Few people can say theyve earned a Ph.D. in mathematics and have been threatened with a trademark infringement lawsuit by proto-punk legend Handsome Dick Manitoba. Caribou mastermind Dan Snaith canhe can also claim an outstanding body of work since 2000, one that continues to evolve and only get better. Snaith first made waves with 2001s Start Breaking My Heart, which merged IDM electronics with shoegazer-style noise, then followed that up with 2003s stunning Up in Flames, a kaleidoscopic psychedelic juggernaut that took its cues from early Mercury Rev and Flaming Lips. Though those albums were essentially self-recorded affairs, Snaith and Manitobarenamed Caribou in 2004 to avoid that aforementioned lawsuitbecame known as a multi-member, hyperkinetic live act, with musicians hell-bent on creating delicious sensory overload scurrying around a stage overflowing with instruments. These days, Caribou is even more dense and dynamic. With an even more colorful, fuzzed-out late-60s aesthetic, theyre truly not to be missed. With Fuck Buttons. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 8 p.m. $12 adv. MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG
Sun., April 20, 8 p.m., 2008
